About Buildings + Cities

Luke & George visit and discuss Switch House, the new extension to Tate Modern – and the architects of both it, and the original museum, Herzog & de Meuron. Plus – thoughts on the machine tool utopia also known as Switerland, design process, and the centrality of the spreadsheet in modern architecture. Music: ‘Holy Roller’ from the album ‘Shangri-La (Instrumentals)’ by YACHT. From the Free Music Archive at freemusicarchive.org Look at pictures on our Google+ page: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104384327113725304822

Luke & George read and discuss Pliny the Younger’s two luxurious (but still so modest!) villas, as described in his letters. The box hedges have been trimmed, and dinner is swimming around on the back of a wooden duck. We discussed the essay ‘The Villa as Paradigm’ by James Ackerman, from Perspecta, Vol. 22, Paradigms of Architecture (1986) pp10-31 Music: ‘Curiousity’ and ‘Quizitive' from the album ‘Music For Podcasts’ by Lee Rosevere. From the Free Music Archive at freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/Music_For_Podcasts/ Look at some images on our Google+ page: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104384327113725304822

Exploring the history and architecture of the inimitable Barbican Estate, the joys of brutalism, concrete, late modernist planning, concealed historical references, getting lost, etc. Includes a couple of short forays into the imagined lives of inhabitants and visitors... Music includes: ‘Β6’ from the album ‘ΝΕΑ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΚΟΚΚΑΛΑ’ by Kοκκαλα and ‘Heavy Traffic’ from the album ‘The Happiest Days Of Our Lives’ by Three Chain Links. Both from the Free Music Archive at freemusicarchive.org Look at pictures on our Google+ page: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104384327113725304822

George & Luke survey three dystopian cities; the glass perfection of Yvegny Zamyatin’s ‘We’, the consumer World State of Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’, and the shattered ruin of George Orwell’s ‘1984’. Competing visions of technological progress gone awry, and the real-world ideas that inspired them. We read: Yvegeny Zamyatin ‘We’ tr. Clarence Brown (Penguin, 1993) Aldous Huxley ‘Brave New World’ (1932) George Orwell ‘1984’ (1948) Music: ‘Shadows’, ‘Fearweaver’, ‘Bindings’ and ‘Demons’ from the album ‘Phantoms’ by Three Chain Links. From the Free Music Archive at freemusicarchive.org

Explore Horace Walpole's eccentric Gothic villa at Strawberry Hill with readings from 'The Castle of Otranto', medieval music, and George's singing. Discover the unique architectural design, decorative effects, and downfall of the historical figure. Delve into William Beckford's Font Hill Abbey and the surreal decor of an empty house.

The first episode of a new podcast! Luke and George read Hermann Muthesius's early 20th c. epic 'The English House'. Learn about the English, their famed love of nature, damp, draughty buildings and burnt meat. Discover how these strange proclivities shape the homes they build and inhabit. With digressions on inglenooks, William Morris, and how to become 'safe for the drawing room'. The edition we read was this one: Hermann Muthesius, Dennis Sharp (ed) ‘The English House’ (Rizzoli, 1979) https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0CdUAAAAMAAJ&dq=editions:ISBN0847802191 Music: Ukrainska Orchestra Pawla Humeniuka ‘Kozak-Trepak’ From the Free Music Archive at freemusicarchive.org Look at images of the projects on our Google+ page: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104384327113725304822